The Sinister Silhouette

I SPRING AWAKE, a silent scream on my lips from the dream I was having. The dark silhouette of a man was there, and he was coming toward me. I tried moving, but my body was locked in place. When I opened my mouth to scream, nothing came out.

Luckily, something, I’m not sure what, pulled me from the dream. I lie there, trying to get my breathing back to normal, when something slithers down my spine. A feeling, one I don’t like, has a different kind of fear settling in my stomach. I sit up to look around the dark room and see movement in the corner by the closed bedroom door. A whimper leaves my lips when the shadow moves, reminding me of the dark figure in my dreams. Remembering that I’m no longer in my dream, therefore can scream, I open my mouth to do just that, when a voice stops me.

“Jules,” he says softly. “It’s just me.”

It takes me a moment to realize it’s Theo, and I sag back against the headboard.

“You scared the crap out of me, Theo.”

I pull in a relieved breath. Then a new kind of fear tries to take over. Blindly, I reach over and flip on the small unicorn lamp. The lamp doesn’t put off a lot of light, and what it does provide gives Theo an ominous look, which doesn’t help the shivers running over my arms.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask cautiously, and clutch the sheet and blanket closer to me.

He comes further into the light, and I notice he only has on a pair of sweatpants, leaving his muscular body bare. I lift my eyes back to his face and see his frown. He appears worried.

“You were crying in your sleep. When I came in to check on you, you were thrashing and getting louder. I closed the door so you didn’t wake Aria.”

“Oh.” I glance down at my hands and loosen my grip on the covers, feeling silly for suspecting him.

“Are you okay?”

I gather my hair in my hand and bring it over my shoulder to get it off my neck, suddenly feeling warm.

“Yes,” I answer.

I tense when he moves closer and sits on the side of the bed by my hip. He reaches out and fingers the end of my hair. When his knuckles barely graze my nipple, I don’t know if it’s on purpose or accident. Either way, I don’t like it, so I readjust the covers in my lap, making sure my arm pushes against his wrist so it moves away. His jaw tightens, but thankfully he drops his hand to his lap.

“What were you dreaming about?”

I snap my mouth closed, not wanting to rehash my dream. It’s already bad enough to have them; once I wake up, all I want to do is forget about them.

Theo sits patiently waiting for me to answer.

“I don’t remember.”

He looks at me doubtfully, and I squirm under his scrutiny. I wish he’d just leave so I can be alone again. I don’t see myself falling back asleep, but I’d rather be alone than have him in here with me. He still makes me feel uncomfortable.

“Maybe it was a memory?” he suggests, obviously not ready to let it go.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

When he reaches out and grabs my hand, I have to force myself not to snatch it back. He seems to like to touch me and finds any excuse to do so. While I’m getting used to the small touches, I still find myself breathing easier when the contact is over.

“You know, Jules, if you have any flashbacks or memories, you can tell me.”

I give him a small smile. “I know.”

“I just wish there was some way I could help you remember,” he says, looking down at our joined hands, his face bleak.

I give his fingers a squeeze, feeling selfish. This situation doesn’t just affect me, it affects Theo as well, and I know it hasn’t been easy on him.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him quietly.

The grim look disappears, and he smiles. “Don’t apologize about something you can’t control.”

I nod, then stiffen slightly when he lifts my hand and brings it to his lips. His breath is warm as he kisses the back of it. His lips linger against my skin for several moments before he puts my hand down and gets up from the bed. I let out a silent sigh of relief.

“I’ll let you get back to sleep. Is there anything you need before I go?”